Description

The Seven Samurai (Toho, 1954). Japanese STB, Tatekan (21" X
58").
A great find for fans of Japanese cinema and Akira Kurosawa,
Heritage is proud to debut this very rare country-of-origin poster
from Kurosawa's most prestigious film. This is the first time we
are aware of this STB or tatekan to come to auction and is believed
to be the only copy known to exist. Set in 16th century Japan,
Kurosawa's epic masterpiece stars the incomparable Toshiro Mifune
and Takashi Shimura, who each appeared in dozens of the director's
successful pictures. When a small village is attacked by bandits,
residents hire seven wandering samurai warriors to protect the
town. Incredibly well structured, the first half of the film
focuses on the villagers' relationship with the samurai and the
building tension as they prepare for battle, with the latter half
devoted to the actual fight itself. Ultimately a bittersweet tale
of the price of war and the loss of noble warriors, this is one of
the most influential films in cinema history and was among Japan's
highest grossing movies to date. Most notably, John Sturges remade
the film as a Western, and another classic was born, The
Magnificent Seven. Featuring several portrait shots of the main
characters and scenes from the film, this poster shows mild fold
wear with tiny separations, small border tears, and misfolding.
There is an upper left corner splice on the bottom panel and the
top panel has a small piece of cellophane tape on the verso
crossfold. The actual image of the poster is mostly unaffected by
these issues and has retained its brilliant original color. Folded,
Very Fine-.